D&D 5E The new Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set - and online tools?

[the Jester]

If it has to be printed and it's over 100 pages - yeah, it'd be that hard.

I would suggest that five levels of each of four classes, plus four races, would hardly take 100 pages.

 

[Jan van Leyden]

If it's free and external to the box then why not just include it in the box. Would it really be that hard?

The only good thing that it might be is that character creation IS in the box, but it isn't the same as what's in the PHB and they are afraid of calling it 'character creation'. I think that would be just fine.

But if that's it why not just say that. Why all this cat and mouse?

I really can't wait to hear what this secret is. It even has the pundit acting like the marketing arm of WotC.

Taking a long shot, here, and probably being overly optimistic, but what if this external 'character creation' something is handled in an expanding way? It starts out in July covering basic variations of the pre-gens of the Starter Set and is gradually expanded with more options.

Pretty hard to put a 'living' thing in a box.

 

[the Jester]

Taking a long shot, here, and probably being overly optimistic, but what if this external 'character creation' something is handled in an expanding way? It starts out in July covering basic variations of the pre-gens of the Starter Set and is gradually expanded with more options.

Pretty hard to put a 'living' thing in a box.

If it only lets you tweak pregens, that isn't character creation (at least, not in my eyes).

If there are rules for rolling up a character, even if they're limited to "four and four" (4 races + 4 classes), that's fine in my book. Even if they're limited to level 5 (or even level 3).

 

[Iosue]

I would suggest that five levels of each of four classes, plus four races, would hardly take 100 pages.

What we have here is an essential difference in philosophy/strategy for approaching new players.

Character generation is an integral part of the game, but it is all in preparation to actually playing the game. WotC is attempting to simplify the buy-in to D&D for new players as much as possible. They want to make it a smooth transition. You buy the game. You read the "how to play", you read the campaign, and then you get your friends together. You give them the pregens, and start playing, confirming and explaining the rules as you go. Now you know the game, so if you want to explore character generation, that options available to you. If you like using the pre-gens, you don't have to worry about character generation.

Removing chargen from the box means it's one less thing the DM has to worry about before getting their friends together, it's one less thing the friends have to worry about before playing the game (should we use these pre-gens or make our own?), and it removes a lot of material that the DM will have to, or will feel they have to, be familiar with. And yet, and still, it doesn't remove the option entirely from the box, nor does it make you buy a PHB to get into chargen. It streamlines the process for a total newbie to get into the game, while still making those more detailed options available.

 

[Lhorgrim]

Based on all the information available I think I've figured out this new way to make PCs without CharGen in the box.

Mike Mearles will come to your location when you call for him and make your character for you! This will not require the internet or a phone, but will require a short piece of copper wire.

 

[Hussar]

The Moldvay Basic Set without rules for adventures outside of the dungeon?

Yeah. That one.

I'm still wondering what the difference is between five levels of pregens and B/X rules where you had zero choices during chargen.

 

[Riley]

If it has to be printed and it's over 100 pages - yeah, it'd be that hard.

If character generation were over a 100 pages, that would seem to create a barrier to quick and easy entry.

 

[Riley]

Yeah. That one.

I'm still wondering what the difference is between five levels of pregens and B/X rules where you had zero choices during chargen.

It may not seem like much choice compared to 3e or 4e, but in B/X there were:
1) Name / gender
2) Roll stats (not a choice, but a little adventure of its own, in a way)
3) choose from 7(?) classes/races
4) Adjust stats based on a 2 for 1 point swap
5) roll money(?)
6) buy equipment
7) choose/roll spells
8) roll hit points

I wouldn't ask for any more choice/customization in the intro level of 5e.

 

[Pickles JG]

I am not bothered by playing pregens I don't understand the dislike in an introductory product - you can still personalise them & tweak them later.

I ran the 4e adventure path from pre-release to level 18 & three of the players played pregens all through (the others started later). They were decidedly their own characters by level 2-3.

 

[Callahan09]

Personally, I think pregens are *more* important to a starter set than character generation rules. That's not to say that character generation rules shouldn't be in a starter set, but it would be worse not to have pregens than it is not to have chargen.

The thing is, a starter set's purpose is to teach people how to play the game. That's it. That's what it's there for. Character generation is a way to customize the game, but it isn't *the game*. It's easier to learn the game when you're handed a pregen character and a precooked adventure that's suited to learning the basic rules of the game. Chargen and custom content come later, after a fundamental understanding of how to *play the game* has already been grasped by the new player.

A starter set will always have a place in the market, whether it's crippleware or not, if it accomplishes the goal of concisely and easily teaching a new player how to play the game and giving them some kind of adventure to enjoy so they can see what it's like to actually play the game.

If that starter set also makes the rules clear enough that DMs/players can customize it (i.e. make changes to their characters, invent their own abilities, alter the flavor to fit a setting they've dreamed up, create their own adventures, etc) and still be playing the same game, but with new content that wasn't explicitly described in the box, then I would argue it is *not* crippleware at all, even if it doesn't contain hard and fast chargen rules, but rather a sort of innate ability for the people who own the box to know enough about the game to take what's there and make it their own and still be playing the same game and not some unrecognizable homebrew.